


Heart of Steel

by Tarantula22



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-25 18:43:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3820837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarantula22/pseuds/Tarantula22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Clara find out that an echo of Clara's has gained control of Magura, the once wonderful city of the planet Avalon. Can they save the city from an evil Clara?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Doctor Who: Heart of Steel**

 

**Prologue**

 

The City of Magura had once stood as testament to peace, freedom and co-operation between multiple species. The plans had been drawn up a thousand years ago after the human settlers arrived and became one with the community. Earth had always been a prime target for hostile invaders and, after one attack too many, several space ships set off in hope of a brighter future. All seven Hybrid Spaceships had been designed with the possibility that it would take several lifetimes before finding a new place for its passengers to call home in mind and had been built accordingly. Treeborgs had been implemented to maintain a breathable atmosphere within the ships and iFarms had also been built for food and water.

  
The Hybrid Spaceships arrived at Avalon three hundred years after their launch. Tensions had been high when they arrived but the human settlers showed them footage of several attempted invasions followed by a message of peace. Avalon itself was very similar to Earth, only instead of humans being the ones who had evolved, it had been the animals instead.

  
Anthropomorphic animals inhabited Avalon and had created their own method of powering machines called "Psyche", which worked as a form of kinetic energy. It was good for the environment, meaning there was no pollution to speak of and the Hybrid Ship's iFarms were then adapted to be compatible with Psyche, making farming far easier than it had been before. Magura was built and Avalon was at peace but no matter how wonderful it is, peace never lasts. The City of Magura of {|7_9} was very different to the one that had originally been built and not for the better. Greed had tainted the planet and the politicians that had once sworn to protect their city had turned cruel.

  
It had been fifty years since the Psyche energy plants had been built to power the centre of the city the surrounding areas, more commonly referred to as the Slums, with hardly any power or resource. The Centre spared enough to keep the poor citizens alive, but only because they wouldn't be able to take taxes off them if they were dead. In the dead centre of the city was the tallest building of them all, known as "The Network Building".

The richest person on Avalon owned the Network Building and she was also the owner of the Power Plants. By that logic she was also the owner of the Government, despite what they said. She made the decisions and if her orders weren't carried out then it was lights out for Magura. Being at the centre of the city, The Network Building shined the brightest. There were no window or at least there didn't appear to be.  
Instead it was made completely out of steel and several powerful beams of light emitted from the Psyche-powered spotlights that ran up the building.

Despite what the building represented, Cooper had always enjoyed sitting on the roof of his house and looking at it every night. It was cold and hard, but in a strange way it was rather beautiful, as was the rest of the City Centre and it both calmed and angered him. It represented a better a life, an easier life and at the same time it represented greed and selfishness.

He hugged his legs to his chest in an attempt to keep warm and sighed. He heard the sound of moving brick and he turned his head to see his older sister, Joan, crawling uneasily across the rooftop like a spooked cat. She had never felt comfortable moving on the roof and it was amusing to see her attempt it.

  
'I hope you're not pining for the life of a politician,' she said sternly, sitting down.

'No,' he replied, turning his gaze back to the City Centre. 'I just like to come out here and think.'

  
'Yeah. Me too,' she hugged her legs to her chest too. 'I can't wait for us to put the plans into action.'

  
'Do you really think you can take out all the power plants?' Connor asked uncertainly.

Joan nodded, pushing her dark hair out of her face and behind her ears.

'What happens when you do?' he asked. She shrugged.

'Once we manage to turn all the power off then they'll be more vulnerable. We can storm the city and take it back. Gadget thinks he's close to figuring out how to work the guns we scavenged,' she smiled. 'It won't be long now.'

Connor didn't reply and Joan rolled her eyes. 'You want to know what we're going to do with her don't you?' she asked and his silence told her all she needed to know. 'I can't believe you have a crush on the evil cow,' she shook her head in disbelief.

'She's pretty,' Connor replied in a measly voice.

'Trust a fifteen year old boy to develop a crush on Lady Satan,' Joan laughed and she ruffled his sandy blonde hair. 'You'll grow out of it.'

He slapped her hand away irritably. 'I don't have a crush on her!' he said.

Joan scoffed. 'Sure you don't. I've never seen you miss one of her public announcements.'

Connor scowled. 'Because it's a public announcement! I'm meant to watch them.'

'While drooling?' Joan asked, smirking and then she because serious. 'You don't want to be telling anyone you have a crush on her. You'll get yourself in trouble.'

'I won't,' he stated. 'Liking her is a good way of getting pelted with rocks in the street.'

Joan nodded. 'It is. But don't worry. One day we'll put her on trial and it'll be her being pelted with rocks. I can't wait. I know she's to blame for the disappearances,' she said angrily and Connor saw her hands curl up into fists.

Connor felt his stomach squirm uncomfortably and Joan then punched him on the arm. 'I'm going to bed. Later, Squirt!' and she carefully crawled along the roof and climbed down the ladder.

Connor sighed, looking at the Network Building sadly. 'You better be careful, Clara Oswald,' he muttered. 'Because the Resistance is coming for you and I hate to think what they're going to do when they catch you.'


	2. Chapter One

‘How was it?’ asked the Doctor as he turned on the chair to face Clara.

Clara froze and frowned. She noticed the TARDIS in the corner of her bedroom and looked back at the Doctor. He smiled at her but it looked rather painful.

‘How was what?’ she asked suspiciously and she kicked off her high heels. She pulled her hair out of its bun and she threw herself on her bed.

‘Your date,’ he replied, following her. ‘That was what tonight was about wasn’t it?’

She propped herself on her elbows. ‘And how did you know it was a date?’

‘Because you coloured your face in,’ said the Doctor, pointing at her face. ‘And you were hearing heels. And you had your hair in a bun. You do that to make yourself look more attractive but it doesn’t work. If anything it makes your face look more round.’

She glared but he didn’t notice.

‘It’s good that you’re trying to move on,’ he continued and stood up to pace around the room. ‘How did it happen? Where did you meet?’

‘My friend Karen at work suggested it,’ Clara replied. ‘It was a blind date.’

The Doctor leaned against her wardrobe. ‘And how was he? Did he have a funny moustache? Or a comb over?’

Clara sat up. ‘ _She_ was very nice,’ she corrected and went to her mirror to remove her make-up. ‘She’s a nurse and, thankfully enough, she doesn’t have a comb over or a funny moustache.’

‘She?’ repeated the Doctor, confused. ‘Since when are you interested in “ _shes_ ”?’ he asked, folding his arms.

‘I dunno. I’m not. I just figured I’d try out something new,’ she replied uneasily. ‘I told Karen that I didn’t think I could date another man after Danny so…she suggested that I try dating…a _she_.’

Clara had turned crimson, not that the Doctor noticed.

‘I don’t think anything is going to come of it though,’ she continued quickly. ‘It just didn’t feel right. You know what I mean?’

He thought about this and shook his head. ‘No. Not really. Things just seem to happen to me and that includes relationships. People just kind of…shoot into my life. Do you know what that’s like?’

She smiled. ‘Yeah. Kind of.’

‘So what’s her name?’ he asked.

‘Michelle.’

‘Nice name,’ he mused and then realised something. ‘Why are you taking off your make-up?’

‘Because I’m going to bed,’ she answered. ‘See me in my bedroom? After a date? A pointless date, I might add. I just want to curl up and go to bed.’

He rolled his eyes. ‘How boring. No. I have a better idea-’

‘No! I’m going to bed!’

‘Let’s go somewhere peaceful! Let’s go somewhere nice!’ he ignored her protests. ‘We could go on holiday to space Egypt. You know all those conspiracy theories that aliens helped with building the pyramids? They’re true. I lent a helping hand! You’re welcome.’

She whimpered. ‘But I wanted to go to bed!’

‘What’s the point in going to bed when you’re awake?’ asked the Doctor. He walked to the TARDIS and opened the doors with a snap of his fingers. ‘It’s completely pointless. You might as well…’ he struggled to come up with an example.

‘Swim on land?’ she suggested.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he replied. ‘Who can swim on land? TARDIS?’ he gestured to the inside of his magical blue box.

She smiled despite herself and got up. She grabbed her heels and ran inside, the warmth and brightness of her bedroom replaced by the comforting chill and sleekness of the TARDIS interior. She heard the Doctor snap his fingers and the doors closed.

The Doctor ran to the control console and pulled on the lever, activating the time rotor. Clara sat down on the steps and watched him as he moved around the console wildly, pressing buttons in what appeared to be a random manner.

‘So Space Egypt?’ she said.

He shrugged. ‘Or Resort Planet? Somewhere you can let your hair down. You might want to wash your hair by the way. It’s all brown.’

‘That’s my natural hair colour,’ she replied irritably.

‘Is it? Are you sure? Aren’t you a bit too old for that?’

‘Oh shut up.’

He grinned, reaching the computer. ‘I’m going to put the keywords “nice” and “peaceful” into the search results and let the TARDIS choose somewhere at random. Could be a nice surprise.’

‘You sure you won’t be bored?’ she asked.

‘I’m sure I will but I could always fix all the broken stuff in our hotel,’ he answered after briefly considering her question.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘Hotel? We’re going to stay in an actual hotel?’

‘I don’t see why not. Wouldn’t be a holiday without a hotel. Bit of the psyche paper and the Sonic Screwdriver and we’ll be sorted.

She looked at him suspiciously. ‘Why are you being so nice?’

He looked offended. ‘Are people not allowed to be nice?’

‘People? Yes. You? I’m not so sure,’ she replied. ‘Rarely are you nice without having an ulterior motive.’

‘I’m having a hard time not being able to find Gallifrey and you’re having a hard time with life. I figured we could both use a rest.’

She still wasn’t convinced. ‘Having a rest isn’t your thing. Your thing is getting into trouble.’

‘Clara.’ He pulled down the lever, landing the TARDIS. ‘I’m an old man. Humour me. Please.’

It annoyed her when he did that. He knew all he had to do was to play the wounded old man card and she was putty in his hand. She sighed, put her heels back on and stood up while crossing her arms.

‘Fine. But there better be no funny business. Is that understood?’ she warned, walking towards him.

He looked down at her, feigning fear. ‘Oh yes, Ma’am. No funny business here.’

She smirked. ‘Good. Let’s go!’ and she ran outside, the Doctor following.

What greeted them definitely did not look like Space Egypt or Resort Planet. It wasn’t even nice looking. It was a city slum and it stunk something fierce. There were rubbish bins and litter all over the roads and graffiti plastered on every wall.

‘This is what the TARDIS considers nice?’ asked Clara as the Doctor closed the door behind him.

‘You have to admit it has a certain charm about it,’ the Doctor responded optimistically. ‘Maybe we’re just in a rough part of town?’

The Doctor started walking down the street and Clara chased after him. They went round the corner where they found a very run down market. Clara noticed a few people looking shocked at the sight of them and nudging their friends and pointing towards them.

‘I’m not too sure about this,’ Clara said but the Doctor was already walking towards the market. ‘Doctor!’

He turned to face her, walking backwards.

‘It’s a market, Clara! People looking to sell things! It’s a good place to get information!’ and he turned back to face the market.

Clara ran after him. Unsurprisingly none of the stalls on the market were selling anything of real value and most of it looked like junk. One stall was even selling giant rats on a stick.

‘Hello!’ the Doctor said to a very intimidated looking fifteen-year-old selling dirty rags. ‘How are you?’

Her eyes darted from the Doctor to Clara and back to the Doctor.

‘Erm…fine, Sir,’ she replied and gave a jerk that looked like she was about to bow but thought better of it. She looked back at Clara nervously. ‘Thank you.’

‘Tell me.’ the Doctor leaned in. ‘Where are we?’

‘Magura City,’ she answered. ‘Of-of-of Avalon.’

‘Avalon!’ the Doctor clapped his hands together. ‘One of the most peaceful planets ever!’

‘Sure doesn’t look like it,’ Clara remarked, looking around and then back at the girl. ‘What happened? Why aren’t in school?’ she asked and the girl looked on the verge of tears. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Is this some sort of test?’ the girl sobbed. ‘I’m sorry! I don’t know what this means!’

Clara was shocked by this response and looked at the Doctor for help but he just stared at the girl with a passive expression on his face. She then looked behind her and saw that several of the market workers watching angrily. One whispered something into a young boy’s ear and he ran off.

‘Doctor,’ she tugged his arm. ‘I think we should be going back to the TARDIS.’

‘Why are you scared of us?’ asked the Doctor, ignoring Clara.

The girl had thick tears running down her face now. ‘Are you going to kidnap me as well? Like all the others? Is that what this is?’

‘Kidnap?’ the Doctor said curiously. ‘Who’s been kidnapped? Why do you think we’re kidnapping people?’ he asked and the girl’s eyes fell on Clara. The Doctor looked at Clara enquiringly and then back at the girl.

‘We should go!’ Clara grabbed the Doctor’s arm and pulled him away but he ripped his arm out of her grip and ran the opposite way they had to go back to the TARDIS. She ran after him furiously.

‘What are you doing?!’ she demanded to know.

‘I want to know what’s going on! Don’t you?’ he asked, turning another corner.

‘Yes but something doesn’t feel right! Can I remind you that you’re a stick alien and I’m five-foot-one and if we were attacked we would be completely defenceless?’ replied Clara. ‘They looked really angry with us.’

‘Of course they were angry! Human brains are wired for it! You get angry over the tiniest things!’ the Doctor replied with a bored tone. ‘People are being kidnapped the slums! It’s the perfect place for it and chances are the police won’t do anything.’

‘How do you know?’ asked Clara.

‘Look at this place. Does it look like there are any police operating in this area?’ he asked impatiently.

She had to admit to herself that he had a point. It looked like there hadn’t been any police operating in the area for years. She looked up at the building and saw that people were watching them from their windows.

Something definitely didn’t feel right.

They reached what appeared to be the town square with a giant jumbotron on the side of the tallest building. There was no image on it and the Doctor noticed that it had many holes and cracks on the screen. Had there been a riot? Was that what had happened? What had happened to Avalon? If his memory was correct, which aside from time paradoxes it always was, then Avalon was meant to be a perfect Utopia.

There had been no recorded wars or any mention of a slums in its greatest city. What had happened? Had it been a paradox? It had to be a paradox.

‘Paradox!’ the Doctor exclaimed, making Clara jump.

‘What?’

‘It’s a paradox! That’s what happened here! There was never any slum in Magura! It was the perfect city!’ he rounded on Clara and grabbed her but her shoulders. ‘Something has changed history, Clara! Something has swooped in and changed the course of events!’

‘OK. But what?’ she asked and he let go of her to look around.

He pulled his Sonic Screwdriver out and started scanning the area.

‘If only there was some way I could get a clue,’ he muttered and she tapped him on the shoulder. ‘What?’

She pointed at the jumbotron and he grinned.

‘Ah! Thank you, Clara!’ he pointed his Sonic Screwdriver at the jumbotron and began to fix the screen.

Once it was fixed it flickered back to life, starting out as static first but then an actual picture appeared and that picture was-

‘That’s me!’ said Clara, her jaw dropping.

On the screen was Clara Oswald wearing a white dress and looking slightly pale but it was undeniably her. She smiled at her unseen audience but she didn’t say anything.

‘How can that be me?’ she asked the Doctor.

He scratched his chin, looking confused. ‘Errrrrrr…I dunno,’ he replied uncertainly. ‘Are you sure that’s you?’

‘Yes! We look exactly alike!’

‘Are you sure? Her head isn’t as big and round,’ he replied.

‘Not as big? She’s on a bloody jumbotron! What’s going on?’

‘It is her!’ came a voice and the Doctor and Clara turned to see a group of people approaching them, each of them either holding bats or chains.

‘Who is that?’ the Doctor asked and they glared at him.

‘Are you trying to be funny?’ demanded one man with a shaved head.

‘Clearly not. I’m dressed as a magician, not a stand up comedian. Now would you answer the question?’ the Doctor responded sternly.

‘That there is Clara Oswald,’ answered another man. ‘The woman responsible for our city turning into a dump.’

The Doctor rounded on Clara, shocked. ‘That’s your name!’

‘Yes! Thank you!’ she snarled. ‘Not helping!’

‘Did you really think you could just walk around town and no one would recognise you?’ the bald-headed one asked and the group started to walk towards them, holding up their bats and chains.

The Doctor and Clara stepped back.

‘You’ve got this all wrong!’ said Clara.

One snorted. ‘Thought your money would protect you in the slums, did ya? Think you were safe to roam about like you own the place?’

The Doctor pointed his Sonic Screwdriver at them threateningly.

‘I’d stay back if I were you,’ he warned and they both continued to walk backwards, putting some distance between them and their would-be assailants.

‘And what will that stupid little thing do?’ asked the bald-headed one.

The Doctor pointed the Sonic up to the air. ‘Something like this!’ he said. He pressed the button and the jumbotron blew up!

There were screams and the men stepped back in horror. The Doctor turned to Clara.

‘RUN!’ he demanded and she didn’t need telling twice.

Clara turned on the spot and made a mad dash for the streets. It wasn’t until she had taken several corners and was in an alleyway did she notice that the Doctor wasn’t with her.

She was completely alone.


End file.
